Bandai Namco and Capcom are two giants in the video game industry. These two developers are best known for their expertise in creating exciting, action-packed, addictive fighting games, such as Soul Calibur (Namco) and Street Fighter (Capcom). However, there are many great fighting games out there that are forced to hide in the shadows of these two companies, never being fully recognized for the energy they contribute to the genre.

So without further ado, here are the top 10 epic fighting games not created (or published) by Namco or Capcom:

10. Def Jam Fight for NY

Developed by Aki, EA Canada, Def Jam: Fight for NY puts you in the shoes of a brutal street fighter, fighting for control of the New York hip-hop underground. The game features over 40 well-known artists in the hip-hop community including Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, Redman, Method Man and Snoop Dogg, with over 20 venues to choose from as you battle it out all over New York City.

9. Injustice: Gods Among Us

Developed by Netherland Studios, Injustice: Gods Among Us is an epic fighting game featuring a number of heroes and villains from the DC Universe, with a fresh new story to complement the exciting matchups.

8. Mortal Kombat

Deception: Developed by Midway Games, Mortal Kombat: Deception was the first entry in the series to feature online capabilities. Deception also introduced some new characters: Darrius, Dairou and Kobra, who join returning characters like Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Mileena for massive battles with destructible environments and vicious death traps.

7. The King of Fighters ‘94

Developed by SNK, The King of Fighters ‘94 is the first fighting game to feature team-based matches, combining characters from both SNK’s Fatal Fury and Arts of Fighting series mixed with SOF originals for some epic three-on-three battles.

6. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

Developed by SuperBot Entertainment, PlayStation All-Stars is a free-for-all brawler showcasing PlayStation’s large library of characters such as Nathan Drake, Sly Cooper, Jak and Daxter and many more.

5. Killer Instinct

It’s old, but that won’t stop it from making the top five. Developed by Rareware in 1994, the game was a critical success along with Killer Instinct 2, which released two years later. While the new Killer Instinct on Xbox One is fun, it's nowhere near as exciting as the original.

4. Dead or Alive 2

Developed by Tecmo, Dead or Alive 2 takes place after the death of Fame Douglas, sponsor of the original Dead or Alive 1 Combat Championship. The world has gone astray and it is up to you to win the championship and save the world. There are also boobs.

3. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

Developed by ARC System Works, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is the best anime fighting game on the market. Packed with fast-paced action and stunning visuals, this game takes the 2D fighting style and mixes the genre with a bit of strategy.

2. Mortal Kombat II

Developed by Williams Entertainment Inc., Mortal Kombat II is one of the best fighting games ever made. It’s brutal, it is dark, it is gory and it is just downright fun.

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee

Developed by HAL Laboratory, Melee is the successor to the original Super Smash Bros., and is by far the best non-Namco-or-Capcom-created fighting game out there. The game features more characters, themed arenas and multiplayer modes than its predecessor. To sum things up… it’s a blast.

It goes without saying: making a video game is no walk in the park. It requires a lot of time, money and resources. So it should come as no surprise to see many titles never make it out of the development process. Some for good reason, either the game was not turning out the way the developers anticipated or the cost far exceeded the budget and expected revenue. However, there are those games that truly had great potential and still managed to get the pink slip.

Here are the top 10 video games that could have been great, though we will never know for sure:

10. LMNO

It’s been almost 10 years since EA decided to team up with director Stephen Spielberg in an attempt to revolutionize the gaming industry with an emotionally compelling story filled with action, adventure and uhm, an alien. Codenamed LMNO, the duo’s ambitions encountered one too many speed bumps and development of the title evidently came to a complete halt.

9. Road Rash

Road Rash was a popular franchise in the ‘90s, and if EA’s vision for a reboot came to fruition, could have been a lot of fun on current-gen consoles. But alas, for reasons unknown, the project was ultimately tossed aside and now we may never get to see a bunch of bikers racing while simultaneously attempting to whack each other with baseball bats.

8. Metallica: The Game

It’s a racing game inspired by Metallica, what more do you want?

7. Star Fox 2

Even today, Star Fox is one of the most well-known characters in all of Nintendo – though this may only be due to his appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series. It’s unfortunate to see this iconic hero go to waste, Nintendo has never really given him a chance since the Gamecube, with Star Fox Assault and Star Fox Adventure. Hopefully now that Nintendo is revisiting some classics on Wii U there may be a future for this under-appreciated fox.

6. Mega Man Universe

A Mega Man game (almost) made for fans that allows you to create your own custom characters and stages and share them online with your friends. Unfortunately this title got lost in development hell.

5. Heavenly Sword 2

Heavenly Sword had the potential to be one of the best PlayStation exclusive franchises. The first title was an exciting, action packed adventure that ultimately bombed and became a regretful waste of $60. Why? For one simple reason: the game was over in a mere six hours and had little replay value – especially since this was before Trophies were introduced. Imagine if Frodo’s story was told in just one book. How great would it have been? Granted it’d still be one hell of a long book. Wait. Where were we? Oh, right. Heavenly Sword was too short, and a part two could have been its chance at redemption, but that’s all over now. Heavenly Sword 2 makes our top five.

4. Star Wars: 1313

Yes, there are still plenty of Star Wars games on their way, but did you know that Boba Fett was to be the star of this title? That’s right. You can go cry in a corner now.

3. Earthbound 64

It’s a shame when you hear a game you’ve been anticipating was cancelled, but it’s an even bigger shame when you find out that the game you’ve been so eagerly awaiting was over 50 percent finished when the developers decided to pull the plug. Such was the case with Earthbound 64, the successor to the critically acclaimed Earthbound on SNES, a game that, within its first two weeks on Wii U’s eShop, became the third most sold game that month, behind New Super Luigi U and Pikmin 3 – two games made in this decade.

2. Star Wars: Battlefront 3

Just to clear up any confusion you might have. Yes, there is a third Battlefront title in the works, but that’s not what we’re talking about. Free Radical Design, the studio that created the Battlefront franchise, was well into development of the third installment to one of the best third-person shooters ever made until the project was trashed due to budget cuts at LucasArts. Thankfully now with EA attempting to revive the series players will finally get a chance to experience a third Star Wars: Battlefront game. But will it be the same?

1. The Last Guardian

Okay, technically The Last Guardian has not been cancelled. In fact, Sony’s Studios Japan still from time to time mentions that the game is on its way; however, being officially announced in 2009 and pretty much falling off the radar since, it’s fair to say that this game, though in hibernation, deserves a spot on this list. Little is known about the title. But what we do know is that it is the third game by the development team behind Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. With its nostalgic presence, support from Sony and reputation of the studio working on it, the decision to place The Last Guardian at number one was a no brainer.

What games would you have liked to see make this list? Make some noise down in the comments section.

Original Story: GameLoud is small, recently established studio who's focus is on distributing mobile games inspired by music artists. Here's a look at my interview with Clay Graham, the company's creative director. A full feature will soon be up on Review Fix.

NERD: Who founded the company?

Clay Graham: John D'Esposito, creator of popular music festivals Skate and Surf and Bamboozle, as well as others.

NERD: Where are you guys located?

CG: Howell, New Jersey.

NERD: What made you come up with the idea of creating games for music artists?

CG: In the last few years [D'Esposito] had become aware of both the ever-growing mobile space as we as the music industry's inability to advance with the fast-paced world of digital media as a standard. So, after over 15 years of producing music festivals, his connections with numerous bands that had faith in his ability to take a leap into a world barely tread upon by music helped make the amalgamation successful.

NERD: Do you plan on or have you ever published a title on something other than a mobile device?

CG: Currently our platform and all of its unique aspects are built for a mobile world. Built for the fan on the go.

NERD: Do you only create titles for musicians?

CG: At the time, we have only created games based on music artists, approximately 25 as of yet.

NERD: Give a little more insight on how your studio operates; how exactly do you work with these artists to create these games?

CG: That would be where I come in. The band has complete creative control and gives me a detailed idea of what they are looking for. I then take that to one of our various developers and from then on act as the liaison between the artist and developer, ensuring the artists get what they want creative-wise and the developer gets a concept/model that can be built realistically in the mobile world.

NERD: What games are you currently working on?

CG: We've got about another 20 games that we are currently putting the final touches on to be released in the first half of 2014. Artists include New Found Glory, We Came As Romans, Miss May I, Bayside, Palisades and many more.

Original story: Hey everyone. So the other week I was given the opportunity to visit a small independent video game development studio named SMASHWORX. I spoke with the Founder and CEO, Nikita Mikros, for a story I am working on for Reviewfix.com. The article is still in development and only about half way done, but I figured I'd share what I have so far with the IGN community. So here it goes. And remember, any feedback is greatly appreciated.

The rapid advancement in the way people create, distribute and play video games has led the industry down a path of constant innovation.

With the recent release of OUYA and two-thirds of the next-generation consoles looking toward self-published video games, it is only natural to see dozens of independent developers emerge from their studios for a chance to take the spotlight.

SMASHWORX and Tiny Mantis Entertainment are two Brooklyn-based studios who have big plans for the future now that these publishing privileges are readily available to them.

“I’ve been waiting for this my whole career,” said Nikita Mikros, Founder and CEO of both studios. “The ability to sell directly to the customers is, well, I don’t think the world is going to go backwards from there, let’s put it that way.”

Mikros has been making games professionally since 1997. He founded Tiny Mantis Entertainment in 2005 and SMASHWORX in 2010. Between the two companies he has created over 50 original titles, including games like Propaganda Lander, LEGO Dino Outbreak, Smash Hockey and Fantasy Telemarketer.

But for people like him, who have been making games way before this new indie agenda took hold, they see both sides of the coin.

“There [are] a lot more developers, so that changes the equation; it is a lot harder to get noticed,” said Mikros. “It doesn't necessarily mean that there is a million great games out there but there is a million games out there.”

This was not always the case.

“Thinking back to when I first started, if you were making a small little quote-on-quote ‘indie game,’ there was really just no marketplace for it at all. IGF [Independent Games Festival] didn’t even exist,” said Mikros. “People are actually interested in playing indie games now.”

Proof of this is the OUYA. The Android-powered, innovative gaming console that allows developers to publish their games by using the same model seen on mobile apps. This enables any developer the bragging rights of seeing their creation up on the big screen.

Sony and Nintendo are also looking to get a piece of the pie, welcoming indie developers into their digital markets and allowing self-published games. However, it appears that Microsoft is not yet looking to go that route.

Still, there is now plenty more opportunities for developers to get their games out there, and Mikros credits the App Store.

“The fact that there are multiple marketplaces is really good, and I think the App Store basically changed everything,” he said. “[It] got people used to the idea of paying for the game online and just downloading it to their devices.”

SMASHWORX has currently created two games: Propaganda Lander and Smash Hockey, both available on the iOS App Store.

At the moment, the studio is working on a new title - only about a month and a half into development - temporarily dubbed Project Infernus. It is a fast paced, cartoon-style, dungeon crawler that would be nearly impossible to play on your smartphone or tablet.

Which is why it is coming to Vita.

The studio is looking to publish the title on Vita, PC, Mac and any console that will accept it. Yes, that includes the OUYA.

In fact, the first noticeable object you see when first stepping into their studio is the OUYA development kit sitting on a nearby table, though Mikros does admit to not being the biggest fan of the platform. He says that the game is probably better off on Vita.

Nevertheless, he does not forget what matters most to him and his team.

“It is not important which technology it is,” he said. “As much as that we just get the game done.”

Christopher Seavor, the creator of Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Conker: Live & Reloaded, Tweeted last week about acquiring Wii U devkits, suggesting that he is working on a new project for Nintendo’s next-gen console.

"WiiU devkits ain't cheap and it's lookin likely [Gory Detail] is gonna need 3 at some point this year."

On top of being the project lead on Conker, Seavor also wrote the script for the game and even voiced the beloved foul-mouthed squirrel himself. He left Rare to begin his own development studio, Glory Detail, where he has released one mobile game with Parashoot Stan and is currently working on another, according to his Twitter.